Traveling? How Timezones Affect Your Scritches Account

Why am I seeing this?

Scritches displays all times — your calendar, booking details, schedule — based on your device's timezone. Normally this matches where your business operates, so everything looks correct. But when your device timezone is different from your business timezone, all times in the app will appear shifted.

For example, if your business is in New York (Eastern Time) and you travel to Los Angeles (Pacific Time), your phone auto-updates to Pacific Time. Now a 9:00 AM dog walk shows as 6:00 AM — three hours off.

This only affects what you see on screen. Your clients are not affected — email confirmations and notifications always use your business timezone.

What causes a timezone mismatch?

Traveling to a different timezone

The most common cause. Your phone or laptop automatically updates its timezone when you travel, which shifts how all times appear in Scritches.

Your device auto-changed timezones

Sometimes devices update their timezone unexpectedly — after a software update, connecting to a new network, or if "automatic timezone" briefly picks up the wrong zone.

You recently moved your business

If you've relocated your pet sitting or dog walking business to a new city in a different timezone, your business timezone in Scritches may still be set to your old location.

Your timezone was set incorrectly during signup

When you first created your Scritches account, we auto-detected your timezone from your device. If you happened to sign up while away from your business location, it may have been set incorrectly from the start.

What's affected and what's not?

Affected (what you see on your device):

• Calendar — bookings appear at shifted hours

• Booking details — start/end times look off

• Schedule view — daily schedule is shifted

• Creating or editing bookings — times you select may not be what you intend

Not affected:

• Client emails — confirmations and decline notices always use your business timezone

• Online booking portal — clients always see availability in your business timezone

• Backend data — all times are stored correctly, nothing is permanently changed

How to fix it

Option 1: Change your device timezone (if you're traveling)

If you're traveling temporarily and your business is still operating in your home city, the quickest fix is to set your device timezone manually.

iPhone / iPad:

1. Open Settings

2. Go to General > Date & Time

3. Turn off Set Automatically

4. Tap Time Zone and select your business city

Android:

1. Open Settings

2. Go to System > Date & Time

3. Turn off Set time zone automatically

4. Tap Time zone and select your business city

Mac:

1. Open System Settings

2. Go to General > Date & Time

3. Turn off Set time zone automatically

4. Select your business timezone from the dropdown

Windows:

1. Open Settings

2. Go to Time & Language > Date & Time

3. Turn off Set time zone automatically

4. Select your business timezone from the dropdown

Remember to turn automatic timezone back on when you return home.

Option 2: Update your business timezone in Scritches (if your business moved)

If your business has permanently moved to a new timezone:

1. Go to Settings > Organization Details

2. Find the Business Timezone field

3. Search for and select your new timezone

4. Click Save Changes

The mismatch banner will disappear once your device timezone and business timezone match.

Frequently asked questions

Should I avoid using Scritches while traveling? You can still view your bookings and manage your business, but we recommend being cautious with creating or editing bookings while the mismatch is active. The times you select may not align with your business hours. Changing your device timezone (Option 1 above) is the safest approach.

Will my clients see wrong times too? No. All emails and notifications sent to your clients (booking confirmations, decline notices, request confirmations) always use your business timezone. Your clients will see the correct times regardless of where you are.

What about my staff? If your staff members are at your business location, their devices will naturally be in the correct timezone and they won't experience any issues. If a staff member is also traveling, they'll see the same mismatch banner and can follow the same steps above.

I dismissed the banner. Will it come back? Yes — the banner will reappear the next time you load the app if the mismatch still exists. This is intentional so you don't forget about it.

I'm not traveling but I'm seeing this banner. What's wrong? Check your device's date and time settings to make sure the correct timezone is selected. Sometimes "automatic" timezone detection can be slightly off. Manually setting it to your business city should resolve it. If your business timezone is wrong in Scritches, you can update it in Settings > Organization Details.

Will this affect my online booking portal? No. Your client-facing booking portal always displays availability in your business timezone, so clients booking online will see the correct available times.

Still need help?

If you've tried the steps above and are still seeing the timezone mismatch banner, reach out to our support team (support@scritches.io) and we'll get it sorted out for you.